Cincinnati Bengals: A Look into the 2022 NFL Draft Team Needs
By Tyler Kirk
The Cincinnati Bengals fell a little short on Super Sunday, but the promise is there. Let’s look at offseason needs.
After many doubted this Cincinnati Bengals team to make any noise in the 2021 NFL Playoffs, they got all the way to the Super Bowl, falling just short to the Rams. With the way their offensive line has played this season, the popular Bengals’ pick prior to the 2021 NFL Draft of Penei Sewell may have worked out well, too.
But the Cincinnati Bengals have clearly done well with Joe Burrow’s former running mate at LSU, Ja’Marr Chase, who earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and helped them get to where they are now. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bengals will likely now look to improve their protection for their star, young quarterback.
I think that this is the year that Joe Burrow gets protection around him early in the 2022 NFL Draft. If the Cincinnati Bengals stay true to their draft board and continue last year’s great off-season with more great free agent signings, the 2022 Cincinnati Bengals could be seeing themselves represent the AFC again.
As we turn the page into the 2022 off-season, we look towards the team and what their potential needs may be. Here, I will be addressing the needs in this article that could be addressed early and often by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati Bengals 2022 NFL Draft Needs
1. Offensive Guard
The 2021 Cincinnati Bengals biggest weakness is their offensive line. I think that addressing their interior offensive line would be a must to keep their franchise quarterback clean. With the Bengals allowing the third most sacks in the league in 2021, along with seven more against the Rams, it is imperative that they address this unit early and often.
With elite weapons on the outside for Burrow to throw to, if he has a clean pocket to step into it will make play-calling so much easier for head coach Zac Taylor. With more balanced guard play inside for the Bengals, look for offensive line coach Frank Pollack to utilize more complicated blocking schemes inside to free Joe Mixon and allow Burrow more flexibility at the line of scrimmage to make easy adjustments.
If the Cincinnati Bengals can draft a guard that is athletic enough to make Pollack’s wide-zone blocking scheme work, look for the Bengals offense to be very diverse in the ways that they can attack defenses.